Holder on upright support of detachable rotatable trays



y 3, 1965 M. J. VAN HORN, JR 3,

HOLDER ON UPHIGHT SUPPORT OF DETACHABLE ROTATABLE TRAYS Filed Oct. 31, 1963 3 Sheets-Sheet l MAURICE J. VAN HORN, JR.

A ORNEY July 13, 1965 J. VAN HORN, JR 3,194,403

HOLDER 0N UPRIGHT SUPPORT OF DETACHABLE ROTATABLE TRAYS Filed Oct. 31, 1963 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR MAURICE J. VAN HORN,JR.

ATTORNEY y 1965 M. J. VAN HORN, JR 3,194,403

HOLDER ON UPRIGHT SUPPORT OF DETACHABLE ROTATABLE TRAYS 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Oct. 31, 1963 FIG. 9

ATTORNEY United States Patent r 3,194,403 HOLDER 0N UPRIGHT SUPPORT OF DETACH- ABLE RQTATABLE TRAYS Maurice Lioseph Van Horn, In, Rte. 2, Box 236, Church Road, Reisterstown, Md. Filed Get. 31, 1963, Ser. No. 320,570 3 Claims. (Cl. 211-48) This invention relates to the serving or dispensing of foods, beverages and other objects of various kinds and including at beaches, on lawns and patios as well as indoors, and at other places, and to equipment employed for the holding of such foods, beverages and other objects in a manner that they will be readily accessible and within convenient reach at all times.

The invention relates particularly to holders for objects of various kinds mounted on a stand, beach umbrella, table or other support and adapted to hold trays, dishes, baskets or the like which contain objects of various kinds at a convenient height and location for ready access.

This invention is an improvement over Patent No. 2,970,701 granted February 7, 1961.

Heretofore, various devices have been provided for holding refreshments or other objects including trays or containers for tidbits, beverages, snacks or the like; however, these usually have been complicated, bulky, diificult to apply and remove, expensive and easily upset. The above patent overcame many of the objections of the prior art although it included certain undesirable features such as non-portability, marring of the surface of the supporting structure, the necessity of applying the collar and mounting plate over the end of the support post, and for other reasons has not been entirely satisfactory.

It is an object of the invention to provide a portable holder for snacks, beverages and the like which is not easily upset and which is adapted to contain dishes, glasses, beverages, ice and other articles utilized in the serving of food.

Another object of the invention is to provide a portable stand having a holder with removable rings of various shapes and sizes rotatably mounted thereon in a manner such that the finish of the stand will not be scratched or marred.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a rotatable holder which may be easily and quickly attached to and removed from a fixed structure such as a table, desk or the arm of a chair.

A further object of the invention is to provide a rotatable holder which may be applied to and removed from a relatively long slender support without applying the same over the end thereof.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

PEG. 1 is a perspective illustrating one application of the invention;

FIG. 2, an enlarged fragmentary section taken along the line 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3, an enlarged vertical section taken along the line 33 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4, an exploded bottom perspective of the rotatable holder illustrated in FIG. 1 and one of the article holding rings;

FIG. 5, an enlarged vertical section taken along the line 5-5 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 6, a perspective of a modified form of the invention;

FIG. 7, an enlarged section taken along the line 77 of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8, an enlarged vertical section taken along the line 83 of FIG. 6;

BAMAB FIG. 9, a perspective of a further modified form of the invention;

FIG. 10, an enlarged horizontal section taken along the line lib-1i) of FIG. 9;

FIG. 11, a vertical section taken along the line 11-11 of FIG. 10;

FIG. 12, an exploded perspective of the modified mounting plate of FIG. 9;

FIG. 13, an enlarged fragmentary vertical section taken along the line l3-13 of FIG. 10;

FIG. 14, a top plan view of a modified form of split collar;

FIG. 15, a side elevation of the structure of FIG. 14;

FIGS. 16l9, perspectives illustrating various forms of article supporting trays applicable to the article holding rings; and

FIG. 20, a perspective of a modified form of an article holding ring.

Briefly stated, the present invention is an improvement over Patent No. 2,970,701 and includes a portable stand having one or more mounting plates rotatably mounted thereon by means of supporting collars which have hearing surfaces engageable by the mounting plates in a manner that the surface of the stand will not be marred when the plates are rotated. Each of the plates is adapted to receive and support at least one holder or ring which may be of various shapes and sizes to accommodate dishes or other containers of food or beverage and such rings may have inserts attached thereto for the reception of individual containers such as glasses, bottles or the like. Also a split ring type of mounting plate is provided and is supported rotatably by a pair of split sleeve collars to attach the mounting plate to a post in any desired position without the necessity of sliding such mounting plate over the end of the post.

With continued reference to the drawings and with particular reference to FIGS. l-5, a portable stand 10 is provided having an upright post 11 with a plurality of spaced vertically disposed openings 12 disposed along one side thereof. The lower end of the post 11 is slidably received within a sleeve 13 and secured thereto by a fastener 14 with such sleeve being welded or otherwise attached to a base plate 15. A plurality of U-shaped yoke members 16 are mounted on the lower surface of base plate 15 and such members have downwardly depending flanges 17 having openings or bores 18 of a size to receive one end of a tubular leg 19. Each of the legs is attached to the base plate by means of a fastener 2i disposed between the flanges 17 and received within an opening (not shown) in the legs 19. If desired each of the legs 19 may have an adjustable foot 21 of known construction on its lower end. Preferably the stand has three legs as illustrated which will afford maximum stability with a minimum of rocking movement when placed on an uneven surface.

At least one mounting plate 24- is adapted to be rotatably mounted on the upper portion of the stand 16 and this is accomplished by providing the plate 24 with a depending sleeve 25 rotatably supported by a reduced portion 26 of a collar 27. The collar has a central bore 28 of a size slightly larger than the diameter of the post 11 and is adapted to be secured to said post by a set screw 29 having a dog or projection 35% on the inner end which is received within one of the openings 12 in the post. The set screw has a shoulder 31 which bears against the post so that when the set screw is tightened pressure will be applied from opposite sides thereof, The reduced portion 26 provides a bearing surface for the sleeve 25 so that the mounting plate 24 can be rotated without coming in contact with the post 11 and scratching or marring the surface of such post.

The plate 24 is provided with a plurality of generally rectangular openings 32 located adjacent to the outer plurality of compartments.

holders or rings 554. The rings'may be of various. conof a lockingpin 71 whenmembers has .a threaded fopehing 72in vvhich aset scrfew figurations, such as circular, square, oval, or of any other T polygonal shape toaccorhmodate an article of corresponding shape; If. desired, the upper portion of the postll' rnay have a ring or handler 35. utilized for carrying the s standfromone place toanother.

' semicircular "member about the postoland locking the members together hy'mcans of-lockin'g 'pin "71 after,

'With reference to FIGS. 6-8, a modified form of the I invention 'is provided in which the mounting plate 24' is rotatably carried by one end of a gooseneck or extension 33 having an upwardly extendingfiared out portion 39- on one end and a downwardly extending flared out portion when the oppositeend. The upwardly extending portion 39 is adapted to receive a stub shaft 41611 which the collar 27 is mounted. The downwardly extending portion 40 is fixed to a shaft 42 which extendsfdown wardly through'a sleeve 43 having 'a' clampingyoke 4-4 V welde'dor otherwise atta'chedto one side thereof adjacent to the lower portion, The yoke t4 has an upper flange 45 and a lower flan-get 4 6 and such lower flange has a pair of pressure applying eiements 47. The upper flange istadr'apted to engage and rest upon a fixedstructure such as arable top or arm of a chair, after which'thepressure applying elements 47 of the lower flange maybe tightened to securely'rnount the yoke to the fixed structure. f In ordertotrotate the gcoseneck and themounting plate carried thereby and to 'fiX such mounting'plate in adjusted a position, a bearing plate 48 is welded or otherwise attached a to the, upper end of the sleeve 33 in spaced relation to the yoke 3 and such bearing platehas a plurality of spaced openings 4% located adjacent to the periphery thereofif A cover plate 5% havinglan ,upwardly'extendingsleeve 51 isiadapted to be attached tothe shaft 42 by a set screw V t 52 and such coverplate rests upon the bearing plate 48 m 7 regulate the height of the gooseneck above the fixed'structure. The cover plate is provided with an'openin'g adapted to be aligned with the openings4-9 of the bearingplate 48 and to receive a pin 53 to prevent rotation of the cover a plate when the pin is in position.- When it is desired to rotate the gooseneck to a new position, theipin 53 is removed to permit relative rotation between the cover plate Stlgand the bearing plate 48 until theiopening in theleoverp-lateisaligned with'the desired opening 49 in the bearing plate whereupon the pin is again inserted to prevent further rotation. Ifdesired, 'one or more of the rings 34 may be provided with an'insert 54 'hav-ing a vpluralityt of hooks or fingers 55 .which overlie the, ring and maintain the insert in position. i If desired the insert may 7 have one or more ridges 56 to :A further modified form of-theinvention is disclosed in segregate the'insert into a e FIGS. 9-15 and includes a mounting plate '60 era construction to beapplied to theh-andl'e or post 61 of a relatively large .beachtype umbrella 62 after the umbrella is in posit-ion.-- l-n some'of thenewer more sophisticated urnbrellastused on patio tables or the like, the post l' may have telescoping portions for raising and lowering the umbrella relative to the: table by'means'ofa rackand f In these vdevices it t pinion or other mechanical means. would be impractical to disassemble the post in orderto rapply t'a mounting plate as previously described overithe Acccordinglythe mounting plate 60 includes a pairoft identical'halves each having-a semicircular 'plate 63 mounted substantially midwayof a split sleeve 64. The mounting plate is adapted to be rotatably mounted on the 7 post 61 b'y means of a' pair of split ring co1lars 65, one; t disposed-a-bovetthe split sleeve 64 and one disposed below such sleeve and providing bearing surfaces therefor. Each --islocatedin position. f a

- FIGS. 14 and 15 illustrateamodificd form 'o'fsplitpringQ V collar 74 includinga pair 9f split-sleeve member-si'lsahd 1 76, each having arrecesse-d portion '17 whichforrns a bear ing surfaceforthe split.sleeves 64,- t The opposite ends of f 1 themembers 75 andf76 each are provided with'a, cooper-" ating'dovetail 76 vcohstructed for endwise cooperative en;

gagcment The g split 'sleeve'member175,hasta shoulder, a 79 atone-end and thernember 76 has a cooperating recess Y 7 8 3 to limit'the movementiof the membersin' lone direc p a tion. The split sleeve rnernber76also'isprovided vvitlirafv threaded opening 81- for the reception are set screw 82 73"is received and by means ofwhichthe collar i'srigidly attached t-o'the-post 61. 1 a

This mountingtplate is assem ble dlby placingl the lower which t-he set screw isoperated to secure thetcollar to the 7 post 61. The two halves of the. mounting plate'd'theni are placed about rhepo'sr in opposed relation vtoa e-ach other and slid downwardly into the recesses 6'7 Subse&

quently the' other split ring collar 65 is applied about ;the post and 'rn'oved vdownwardly to a; position wherebyithet recesses67 overlie th'e upper portion ofithesplitsleeve t whereupon theset'screw 73'is tightened andthe assembly for attaching the collar totthe post 61.;

the plate or to prevent'the glass'trorntipping over; T

t 7 g In: FIG. 18 amodified form'of insert is provide'd eluding a container fis having a bottomz f andan upwardly extending flange 90,1 plurality of relatively long fingers 91 extend upwardly from thefiangefiti iand te'rniinate' in outwardlycurved hook portions 92-which engage-the ring 7 t 34 in such a manner that the containerfiti willfor'rnia s'up-s a port for a relatively tall cylindrical object. such as' an'ice 1 bucketor the like.

FiGr'. 19 illustrates an :insert adaptable for use with 5 generally square ringand includes a lower container 930i; generally rectangular cconfiguration 'having.at bottom 94; and an upwardly extendingperipheral flange 95 :A' rela: tively long finger iidextends upwardly. from each ofthe corners of the container and terminatesfingan outwardly extending hook portion 97fa'dapted to engage'thecornersf of the generally square ring 34511113; desiredthebotto'rn 93.;5-1 t mayincludeaseries of ridges slf ordividingthe'insert into a plurality ot'compartrnentsjfor;relativelyltall 'ob' je cts such as bottles orthe liltep In 'order to retainqthe bottles inxan upright position andto prevent the; bottles from coming into contact with adjacefit bottles andcause 1 breakagefof one orb'oth "of tli'efsanie', an upper insert 99 is tprovidedflof-gene'rally square .configuratio'nfand having a? to plurality of outwardly curved tangerine, one, along each. V i

side, for engaging the intermediate portionst'of each side I of the square'ring fiej The uppertinsert 99; has aplurality F of openings 101 substantiallyin alignment withthe coni -t partmentssof thelower. container 9Y3 andxbeingofr" a size toff- 7' 7 V accommodate a bottle'orthe like.

With reference to FIGQZO, a'modified for'm' of newer;- V or ring ltl tisprovided having aFlQcking 1 g n 's able withinfone of the ,;Iectangular open'nigs s ztj f, a mounting plate fandi such ring inlay: have an integral bottorn 106 with a plurality of openiugsw7fltherein for the the collar is' tclosed and theopeningsin the lugsare aligned; One of the "semi-,cir'culartv reception of glasses or the like in a manner similar to that of FIG. 16.

It will be apparent that a portable holder for snacks, beverages, and the like has been provided and which is capable of receiving rings of various shapes and sizes and which may be easily and quickly attached to and removed from a -fixed structure.

It will be obvious to one skilled in the art that various changes may be made in the invention without departing from the spirit and scope thereof and therefore the invention is not limited by that which is illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification, but only as indicated in the accompanying claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A readily portable device for direct application to the intermediate portion of an upright post without the necessity of longitudinal movement thereon, said device comprising a mounting plate having a central opening and a sleeve in said opening of a size to accommodate a post about which it is to be mounted, said mounting plate and sleeve being longitudinally split and composed of multiple separable parts and split collars disposed above and below said sleeve and means securing each of said collars in place, said collars having recesses in which the ends of said sleeve are received and having shoulders at the ends of said sleeve whereby said collars provide endwise and lateral bearing surfaces for said sleeve so that said mounting plate can be rotated about and the wear be primarily on said collars.

2. A portable holder for serving food and similar articles comprising a mounting plate, means for securing the mounting plate to a post, at least one opening in the mounting plate, at least one holder ring having a lug of a size and configuration to be cornplementarily received within the opening on the mounting plate and with a hook portion extending away from the ring and engaged with the lower portion of the mounting ring, a first insert having an article holding surface, means for suspending said first insert Within the holder ring at a fixed distance below the holder ring with its article holding surface, a sec- 0nd generally horizontal insert, means for suspending said second insert within the holder ring at a fixed distance between the first insert and the holder ring, at least one opening in the second insert whereby an article placed in the opening will rest on the first insert and be stabilized by the edges of the opening in the second insert.

3. A portable rotatable holder for food comprising a stand having an upright post, a plurality of spaced vertically disposed openings in said post, a base having means for receiving one end of said post, multiple legs detachably mounted on said base plate, at least one collar having a bore of a size to slidably engage said post and be adjustable therealong, a set screw having a reduced inner proiection carried by said collar, said projection being of a size to be received within one of the openings of said post to prevent lengthwise movement of said collar relative to said post, said collar having a reduced bearingforrning portion, a sleeve rotatably engageable with the bearing-forming portion of said collar, said collar and mounting plate being of split construction with means for connecting the same in assembled relation, a mounting plate having a series of rectangular openings therein, said mounting plate being atttached to one end of said sleeve and rotatable therewith, a series of holder rings having lugs of a size and configuration to be complementarily received within said rectangular openings and with book portions extending away from said ring and engageable with the lower portion of said mounting plate.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 475,149 5/92 Pearson 126-280 1,5 09,022 9/24 Noble 1, 24 249 1,636,771 7/27 laberman 248-158 1,740,364 12/29 Dal Maso 248-295 1,787,251 12/30 Iancke et a1. 34-99 2,038,806 4/36 Sellar 248398 2,630,360 3/53 McGinley 248188.2 2,936,897 5/60 Bloch 211131 X 2,970,701 2/61 Fetter 21113 3,101,849 8/63 Osborn 211166 FOREIGN PATENTS 979,384 12/50 France.

CLAUDE A. LE ROY, Primary Examiner.

FRANK L. ABBOTT, Examiner. 

1. A READILY PORTABLE DEVICE FOR DIRECT APPLICATION TO THE INTERMEDIATE PORTION OF AN UPRIGHT POST WITHOUT THE NECESSITY OF LONGITUDINAL MOVEMENT THEREON, SAID DEVICE COMPRISING A MOUNTING PLATE HAVING A CENTRAL OPENING AND A SLEEVE IN SAID OPENING OF A SIZE TO ACCOMMODATE A POST ABOUT WHICH IT IS TO BE MOUNTED, SAID MOUNTING PLATE AND SLEEVE BEING LONGITUDINALLY SPLIT AND COMPOSED OF MULTIPLE SEPARABLE PARTS AND SPLIT COLLARS DISPOSED ABOVE AND BELOW SAID SLEEVE AND MEANS SECURING EACH OF SAID COLLARS IN PLACE, SAID COLLARS HAVING RECESSES IN WHICH THE ENDS OF SAID SLEEVE ARE RECEIVED AND HAVING SHOULDERS AT THE ENDS OF SAID SLEEVE WHEREBY SAID COLLARS PROVIDE ENDWISE AND LATERAL BEARING SURFACES FOR SAID SLEEVE SO THAT SAID MOUNTING PLATE CAN BE ROTATED ABOUT AND THE WEAR BE PRIMARILY LON SAID COLLARS. 